About Me

Wife to a wonderful husband and mom to a beautiful daughter.
Our daughter is 14 years old, in 8th grade, and has been homeschooled from the start.
I write reviews, host giveaways, and enjoy homeschool life!

Homeschool Blogs I ♥

I Review For

Disclosure

To be in compliance with the recent FTC ruling that bloggers need to disclose if they are being paid or compensated for their posts, the following is my disclosure policy:

Our Homeschool Reviews is a blog written by me, Christine. Its sole purpose is to share homeschooling products and ideas with you.

Our Homeschool Reviews does accept and keep free products from companies and organizations. That being said, I will not be influenced by any form of compensation. I will always write my honest opinions and experiences.

Our Homeschool Reviews has several links to various stores. Some of these links are affiliate links. That means that if you click on them and purchase something using that link I get a *small* percentage of the sale. You do not have to click on them, but you are more than welcome to {and thank you if you do}.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

If you have never visited Library & Educational Services you just have to! LES is a wholesale supplier of wholesome educational materials, which serves educators, librarians, and church leaders of children's ministries. It's free to register for an account, and once you do, you can save from 30% to 70% of regular prices.

One of the many products they carry is the creation based Go Science DVDs Series 2 set.

All seven of the DVDs are taught by Ben Roy. Ben teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has formally directed News Channel 9 Science Theatre. He has also produced science lessons for the Weather Channel, About.com, and a Christian satellite broadcasting network.

We were able to receive and review two of the DVDs: Volume 2: Life Science, Weather and Volume 6: Chemistry.

* Milk and Food Coloring
* Elephant Toothpaste
* Stains
* Staying Dry - Diapers
* Lava Lamp
* Instant Snow
* Silly Slime
* Hydrogen Bubbles
* Grain Elevator
* HHO Generator
* Mentos FountainThoughts of an 11-year old: We first watched Volume 2: Life Science and Weather. Some of the lessons included smoke rings, animal skulls, clouds, and soda can-breaking ping pong balls - all of them homemade! My mom and I were familiar with only a few of the experiments and we liked watching Ben Roy's enthusiastic approach to them all! My favorite was when they made a huge nitrogen cloud. They were all very fascinating!

The second DVD we popped in was Volume 6: Chemistry. This was my first choice to review. Just like the first one, it had a few tricks we already knew, but it really was cool! My favorite was the homemade lava lamps ("can we make one?"), which were surprisingly easy to make. I'm sure this one would be as tough as the last for favorites - even for me, who hands-down thought Chemistry would win. It's too tough to decide though.

Science has outdone itself again, all while pointing to our Creator - God!

My Thoughts: Overall I thought the videos are well done. They are recommended for ages 4 to 12, but I think they would work best for the younger to middle of that range. Ben does a good job of engaging the children on the video and explaining the experiments. It is also nice that at the end of each demonstration, he points to God.

Here is a sample from one of the videos

Find Out More: You can find out more about Library & Educational Services and the Go Science DVDs online. Each DVD is just $8.97 and the whole series is $59.82. The recommended age for the Go Science DVDs is 4 to 12 years old.

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

We had the opportunity to review the most adorable dog costume for our dog Maisy. We thought she would look super cute as a pirate girl, so that is what we chose!

Wholesale Halloween Costumes has a pretty large assortment of dog costumes. We had a tough time choosing between the Pirate Girl and the Alpine Dress, which was also very cute.

Maisy was not really thrilled with putting the costume on, but she put up with it. Below she is patiently waiting for hubby to come and save her. Doesn't she look cute?! Arrgg! Oh, and here you go, just in case you want to talk like a pirate too.

Overall I was pleased with Wholesale Halloween Costumes. They have a large selection of costumes and shipping was fast There was a sizing chart I referred to so I would get the best fit. The costume fits Maisy well and there have been no problems with it.

We even found another use for it since Maisy probably won't want to wear it again. The American Girl doll, Ruthie, is looking pretty cute in it too. Funny Bunny just added a belt to help keep it tight.

Find Out More: You can find out more online at Wholesale Halloween Costumes. The Pirate Girl Dog Costumes are just $21.90. Costumes may only be returned, if they are unworn and in new condition with original packaging within ten (10) days of receipt.

Monday, June 23, 2014

This past week was super busy so I'm trying to catch up on housework and menu planning today. Last week VBS and rehearsal for Funny Bunny's dance recital totally through off my eating. Time to get back on track!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Each year it seems like we handle the summer differently. Some years we have homeschooled year round, some years we have taken a break for a few weeks, and some years we have switched to a lighter schedule.

This year I had originally decided to switch to a lighter schedule of Math and a few workbooks we had floating around. But then I started to get more and more review products {which I'm SUPER excited about} but it changed our summer schedule a bit.

So here's a sneak peek at some of the reviews I have coming up, and also a look at what we are doing over the summer.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Back in April I had the opportunity to review the March Snack Box from Vegan Cuts and now I'm going to tell you a little about the May Beauty Box.

Each Beauty Box is filled with 4-7 new products to try and is sent out each month. Products range from cosmetics to skin care and anything in between. The products are 100% cruelty free and mostly organic and natural.

In the May Beauty Box I received the following items:Lauren Brooke Cometiques Mascara - It came in an adorable teeny tiny bottle but I've used it a few times already and it works great.Gourmet Body Treats Finishing Powder - This Raw Finishing Powder is meant to be the last step in your makeup application. I've used it a couple times and it has a nice feel. It even comes with a cap with holes so you don't get too much at one time.Tallulah Jane Eau de Parfum - I actually really like the smell of this perfume. It's not strong and doesn't irritate my skin. Skinagain Youth Cream - This cream came in a fairly large 3.4 fl oz bottle, much larger than the other samples I received! I'm using it so will definitely post again if I can tell a difference in my skin over time.Sevi Texurizer Spray- I'm loving this hair texture spray!! The smell is light and airy and doesn't overpower. I've been using it on days that I don't wash my hair, to give it that fresh feel. Goddess Garden Organics Sunscreen- I can't wait to try this sunscreen next time I'm outside for an extended period of time. It's an EWG Best Sunscreen Pick in 2013. Hoping it works out because I will buy more if it does. And according to their website, it comes in a spray as well.I was really happy with my May Beauty Box!! I felt like what I received was well over the $19.95 price tag and it was fun to try some new products!
Find Out More: You can find out more online at Vegan Cuts. Beauty Boxes are $19.95 a month with free shipping.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Happy Monday!! I was FINALLY able to sit down and plan our menu for the week so this week's dinners are going to be yummy!!

I was also visiting a local bookstore and found a book called The China Study Cookbook. I had heard about The China Study but didn't know there was a cookbook. I sat for a few minutes flipping through the pages and some of the recipes looked really good!! I'm trying to decide if I should buy it. In the meantime, I found a preview on Amazon and found a muffin recipe I'm going to try.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Funny Bunny LOVES to read! She can be found any time throughout the day with her head in a book. Some books she's read over and over again. I know she is comprehending what she is reading, but most of the time she doesn't want to tell me about the books. Asking her simple questions is like pulling teeth. And I don't want to read every book she reads just so I can make sure she is understanding them.So I was happy to learn more about and review a product from Progeny Press. Progeny Press sells study guides for literature from a Christian perspective. Their mission is "To teach our children to think clearly, to understand literature, and to rely on the scripture for truth and values, and enjoy themselves while they do it!"
Each literature guide is available in three versions: a physical book, a CD with a PDF e-book, and a downloadable PDF file. I received the downloadable and interactive study-guide, Anne of Green Gables. Progeny Press has made my job easier with this great study guide!

The Anne of Green Gables Study Guide starts off with a note to the instructor, synopsis, a page about the novel's author, and optional pre-reading activities.

I found the note to the instructor especially helpful. It helped me to prepare Funny Bunny for the study. It recommended additional resources like a Bible and dictionary and gave some great tips on how to successively complete the study.

The middle grades and high school study guides take about 8-10 weeks to complete if working on one section per week.

Chapters are broken down into sets. For instance, chapters 1-4, 5-10, 11-15, etc.

Our guide contained the following sections for each set of chapters. I've included a sample for each with Funny Bunny's answers.

Vocabulary

Questions

Thinking About the Story

Dig Deeper

Optional Activities

You can easily see her answers in the shaded area. We have the option to print it out and write the answers or type them into the PDF, which is what we chose.

This study guide is not only making her dig deeper into Anne of Green Gables, which she has read many, many times, but it's also taking away the work from me, which is nice!Thoughts of a 11-Year Old: I liked the Anne of Green Gables study guide fairly well. It helps you dig a bit deeper into the book, diving into the literature of a famous author, and actually understanding in the process. I am sure very many children have read Anne of Green Gables in it's original state and paused at every page, wondering What does this mean and what does that mean? And, can't anybody explain it in a way that I will understand? Many people would just say to skip over the hard words, but I think the Anne of Green Gables study guide really will help grasp the concept of the book as well as the details.

Find Out More: You can find out more online at Progeny Press. The Anne of Green Gables Study Guide is $18.99. This e-guide is downloadable and interactive. Once opened you can print it out or enter the answers directly in the guide. It's recommended for grades 5-8.